‘Legion’ Boss Talks Role in ‘X-Men’ Cinematic Universe

Minds behind the live-action X-Men universe surprised us all with the announcement of not one, but two distinct series based on characters from the mutant universe, but somewhat unclear was their relationship to the films. Now, Legion and Fargo showrunner Noah Hawley offers a bit of clarification, seemingly distancing all three branches of the X-Men properties.

TVInsider spoke to Hawley on a few basic details of the series’ inception, notably that we shouldn’t necessarily expect any real crossover or shared space with the Bryan Singer X-Men films, or even Legion’s FOX counterpart, Hellfire:

[Legion] is conceived more as a standalone. I don’t want to say too much more about it on that level, but certainly it’s not constructed as a back-door anything. It’s more just that there’s a story that I want to explore that has to fit into that larger universe, which is exciting. […]

It’s interesting; I do think that the show needs to stand on its own two feet. The people who care that it’s an X-Men title are going to know it’s an X-Men title. You’re looking for the largest possible and most diverse audience, so that’s not the most important thing. The most important thing is the show itself. […]

I think [Legion and Hellfire will be separate worlds]. We certainly haven’t had any conversations about crossovers. I don’t know anything about it, but I think that one is more linearly taken out of the world of the movies. Ours has its own world to it.

Legion follows the story of David Haller, a young mutant struggling with schizophrenia and psychiatric incarceration, who soon learns from a fellow patient that his voices and visions may in fact be real. Created for the New Mutants in 1985, the character is also noted as the son of Professor Charles Xavier and Gabrielle Haller.

Fargo showrunner Hawley will write the pilot and serve as an executive producer alongside Lauren Shuler Donner, Bryan Singer, Simon Kinberg and Marvel’s Jeph Loeb. It’s early yet, with Legion likely to begin shooting in January, but should we be disappointed the X-Men series don’t connect as strongly to the films?